Sharon Scott seeking another Newport News council term

NEWPORT NEWS — Sharon P. Scott is running for re-election for her North District seat on the Newport News City Council.

Scott has previously made it clear she would run, but she issued a formal statement Monday noting that she is certified for the May ballot.

Scott, who was first elected to council in 2002, has a challenger in Denbigh High football coach Marcellus L. "B2" Harris III.

Her statement stressed her council experience as necessary to tackle issues like traffic congestion and job growth in Newport News.

"Our continued economic development efforts require strong, steady, experienced hands at the helm," she said.

She also listed a specific priority: securing money to pay for a build-out of the Denbigh Community Center.

The 53,000-square-foot, $14.5 million multipurpose center was completed in February 2013, but officials originally envisioned a swimming pool. That piece of the building was taken out of the plans in an effort to rein in the project's cost.

"Our Denbigh Community Center is a jewel of the North (District)," Scott said in her statement, "but we need the aquatic portion of the building to further meet the needs of the citizens."

Scott also pointed to her years of work on regional boards and Virginia Municipal League committees.

Scott, who issued her statement Monday afternoon, couldn't be immediately reached for comment later in the day.

Harris has said he wants to promote more after-school, job-training and youth mentorship programs in the city.

Scott's announcement comes a day before a Tuesday deadline for candidates to file for the mayoral and city council elections. That deadline is 7 p.m.